This invention relates to a bracket for supporting a rigid anchoring platform used in connection with the retaining walls of an excavation. More particularly it deals with a bracket or bracket assembly used in pairs and which may be reusable to support a rigid anchoring platform which in turn is connected to a buried anchor behind the retaining wall and through which a rod or cable may be tightened so as to exert retaining force upon the walls.
During the construction of a large building such as a high-rise and the like, the excavation for the foundation and subfloors requires the presence of temporary lateral walls so that the adjoining earth, mud, etc. will not fall or flow back into the excavated site. Normally this is accomplished by driving supporting beams such as I-beams in spaced proximity to each other around the periphery of the excavation and then placing heavy planks or plates between the open U-shaped sections of the adjacent I-beams. These planks or plates form the retaining walls.
It is also normal and often necessary to further brace these walls by mounting rigid anchoring platforms which are connected to the outer faces of the I-beams and span adjacent I-beams. Connecting rods or cables are connected to these platforms. The other ends of the rods or cables are attached to a fixed weight or "dead man" embedded in the earth in back of and generally below the wall and below and, of course, at an angle to the position of the support. The end of the cable or rod attached to the support may then be tensioned by known means so as to exert a stabilizing force upon the walls via the I-beams such that the walls cannot move inwardly into the excavation. Generally these cables are called "ties" and the supports to which they are attached referred to as "tie back wales" although other nomenclature is common.
Generally the "tie back wale" or rigid support or platform takes the form of back to back channel irons with spacers welded between them or a modified I-beam although any rigid support spanning the adjacent beams may be utilized and for purposes of illustration in this invention may be assumed that such support is a flat, rigid member such as a steel elongated plate. In order to properly fix this anchoring platform or plate in position, it is necessary that it be rigidly attached to the I-beams at the opposite ends thereof and be positioned with respect to the outer face of the I-beams such that the face of the plate is at an acute angular relationship to the I-beams. This is necessary since the anchor is in back of and below the position the platform is attached to the I-beams to assure adequate holding force to the walls. Generally in present construction sites this requires that intermediate triangularly shaped plates be welded initially to the outer surface of the adjacent I-beams and then the rigid member positioned in contact with the slanted outer face of the intermediate plate and welded thereto. This system works properly if the adjacent I-beams being utilized are perfectly square with each other (that is, aligned so that their outer faces are in the same vertical plane) which is often not the case. Accordingly a considerable amount of trial and error welding, breaking the weld, repositioning, and rewelding is necessary at the construction site which is not only time consuming but also dangerous especially during wet weather or an overall wet environment at the construction site.
Accordingly it would be very desirable to be able to assure that the intermediate supporting members each and every time provide square and level surfaces for the support to be affixed to as by welding. This and other objects of the present invention which will become apparent hereinafter are accomplished by the bracket of the present invention. Such bracket includes a vertically oriented generally planar first plate having inner and outer faces, said first plate having means outwardly extending from said inner face for at least temporarily supporting said bracket upon the flat face of a beam such as an I-beam, a body member mounted on said first plate and projecting outwardly from the exterior surface thereof in a plane generally normal to said exterior surface, said body further mounted on said first plate for at least limited pivotal motion therewith, said body having a second plate fixedly attached thereto and disposed on the body side distal from its connection with said first plate, said second plate having an outer planar surface disposed at an acute angle to said first plate wherein appropriate pivoting of said bodies with respect to the first plates of a pair of brackets mounted on a pair of spaced beams disposes said second plates in the same plane for receipt of opposite ends of a rigid member such as an anchoring platform.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention shall become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.